The Conservative government had already passed the Employment Act 1980 which restricted the definition of lawful picketing and introduced ballots on the existence of the closed shop where it operated, needing 80% support of the workers to be maintained.

The 1982 Act was a direct response to the consultations held on the basis of the green paper, Trade Union Immunities (Cmnd.

[1] The Secretary of State for Employment, Norman Tebbit, introduced the Bill in the House of Commons, saying: We have not sought to transform the whole framework of industrial relations law...we have tried to provide specific remedies for real abuses, to promote effective protection where it has been shown to be necessary, and to redress the imbalance of bargaining power to which the legislation of the last Government had contributed so significantly.

A campaign pack entitled Fight Tebbit's Law was issued, and a travelling exhibition toured trade union conferences.

[10] A Marplan poll showed that half of the trade unionists questioned opposed unlawful action in defiance of the Act.